IS loses ground to Kurds in Syria's Kobane: monitor

People looking on at the Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, from the Turkish border near the southeastern village of Mursitpinar, Sanliurfa province on Oct 24, 2014

BEIRUT - The Islamic State jihadist group has lost ground in the Syrian border town of Kobane, where Kurdish fighters now control more than 60 per cent of territory, a monitoring group said Saturday.

The strategically located town on the border with Turkey has become a major symbol of resistance against IS, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, committing widespread atrocities.

The jihadists launched a major offensive in mid-September to try to capture Kobane, and at one point controlled more than half of the town, known in Arabic as Ain al-Arab.

But supported by US-led air strikes and reinforced by Kurds from Iraq, "Kurdish forces now control more than 60 per cent of the city", said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"IS has even left areas that the Kurds did not enter for fear of mines," he added.